Federal, local investigators sift through downtown Olympia fire wreckage
Fire crews and federal investigators were combing through the wreckage of a burned-down apartment building in downtown Olympia Thursday, looking for a cause.
A fire engulfed the under-construction Market Flats apartments at 310 Capitol Way N. early Wednesday morning. The resulting blaze damaged several nearby businesses, including Pete Lea’s Automotive Medical Center and Revival Motors and Coffee Company.
Olympia City Manager Jay Burney called the destruction a “devasting blow” for the entire community, according to a city news release.
“The fire has also touched the structures or disrupted the work of other surrounding businesses that are suffering the loss of income from closures and emotional strain of this event,” Burney said. “We are enormously grateful that no lives were lost, and no one was injured in the fire.”
One family living in one of the affected buildings has relocated after losing their home and belongings, he added.
The blaze also damaged Union Gospel Vision Clinic, which serves vulnerable community members, Burney said.
On Thursday, Capitol Way remained closed between Thurston and Olympia avenues. Investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a State Patrol bomb squad truck occupied the area along with firefighters and city workers.
Meanwhile, a large yellow excavator sifted through lingering debris on the edges of the second floor of the charred apartment building.
Kevin Bossard, assistant chief of operations with the Olympia Fire Department, told The Olympian investigators are still in the early stages of determining the cause of the fire.
He said the federal ATF and FBI have taken the lead on the investigation given the enormous amount of property damage.
Burney acknowledged the lack of details around the origin of the blaze in his statement and called on the public to rein in their speculation.
“We do not now know for a fact what caused the fire. Until we know what is true, we ask that members of the community please not participate in speculation about the cause and cast blame on others in the community,” Burney said. “We need to act on facts and evidence.”
Burney said the city has started looking into how it may help businesses impacted by the fire.
“It is the holiday season, and the impacted business owners and the entire downtown need the support and comfort of the community,” Burney said. “I know we can count on Olympia to come through.”
Todd Cutts, executive director of the Olympia Downtown Alliance, said his organization hopes to collaborate with the city to support affected businesses, but it remains to be seen how that support will take form.
“These are business that added to the fabric and continue to add to the fabric of the downtown community,” Cutts said. “Some of them have been there for a long time, and so we’re going to do whatever we can organizationally.”
For now, the alliance aims to remind the public about affected businesses through social media channels and email newsletters.
“We’re learning hour by hour, day by day about the impacts and trying to understand those,” Cutts said. “We’ve got some ideas but we’ll see what direction things go in the next week or so.”
Pete Lea was onsite Thursday but declined to comment. Several other area businesses also declined to comment.
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 2:04 PM.
